Feasterville, Pennsylvania, Jun 19 (AP) : Authorities have been searching the home of a Pennsylvania man accused of sexually assaulting a teenager whose parents police say gave her to him when she was 14 because he helped them financially. She was one of a dozen girls living in the residence.

Officials in Bucks County acting on a tip Thursday found 51-year-old Lee Kaplan at his Feasterville home, along with 12 girls ranging in age from six months to 18 years. One girl, now 18, told police that she and Kaplan have a 3-year-old and a six-month-old. Kaplan faces charges including statutory sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and aggravated indecent assault.

Here's what happened:

Kaplan's neighbour, Jen Betz, called the authorities as she was concerned about the girls she saw outside the home, which she said had boarded windows and high weeds.

"They're so sad and fearful every time I see them. That's what made me call," she said. "I've been telling my husband for years 'Something isn't right, something isn't right.'"

When cops went to the house, they found 51-year-old Lee Kaplan living with 12 girls ranging in age from six months to 18 years.
Parents of the girl Kaplan is accused of assaulting told police they were going to lose their farm until Kaplan "came out of the blue and saved them from financial ruin".

The parents then handed over the girl to him when she was just 14.

The teenager's parents told police the other nine girls in the house were their children, but no birth certificates or Social Security cards could be located to confirm that, he said.

Officials are trying to verify who the parents of the other children found at the home are.

When police entered the home, "all the children were running around," officials said. "Some were hiding. They were well-behaved, but scared."
The 18-year-old girl's father, Daniel Stoltzfus, told an officer he gave his 14-year-old daughter to Kaplan after researching the legality of such an action online.

Meanwhile, police and dogs scoured the home's backyard for evidence.

Stoltzfus is charged with conspiracy of statutory sexual assault and children endangerment. His wife, Savilla Stoltzfus, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child.

All three were being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

The children apparently did not attend school and it was unclear if they had ever been to a doctor, but they didn't appear to be in bad health and showed no visible signs of trauma.

Another neighbor, Bob Greenfield, said Kaplan seemed "weird" and he now wishes that he also had called authorities.

"You knew something was wrong," he said. "It makes you feel bad. If I had said something a while ago, they would have come earlier."